Tickled Pink
by The Matter's Settled
Summary: A very cute and very pink outfit sparks feelings for Blue that Green didn't know were there. But when Blue reveals that she has a crush on the Pokémon researcher, why does he respond with a preemptive tickle strike?


**So here we have a Friday evening with Green, Blue and of course a dash of Youngster Joey from GSC. Let me know if you guys would like to see more of the Rattata loving youngster. In my stories, Green will be the guy and Blue will be the girl. I've found that is usually the standard in the fandom, although I've seen writers utilize both ways. Of course, I do not own Pokemon and all intellectual property rights belong to Game Freak and Nintendo. So without further delay, here is the story!**

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><p><strong>Tickled Pink<strong>

Working in a research lab for Professor Oak had its benefits: free food, long lunch breaks, competitive pay, and access to state of the art equipment. However, the perk that Green liked the most was the option to leave an hour early on Fridays. Make no mistake; Green was an incredibly hard worker, who was completely dedicated to his research job but by the time Friday rolled around he usually felt compelled to leave early. That was because Friday was his day to relax, to unwind, and to do some important introspection. Curiously enough, he usually spent the evening curling up on the couch with some type of research magazine, or if he was feeling adventurous, maybe a comic book.

However, before he could indulge in his idiosyncrasies, he generally had to reply to quite a few text messages. Usually, they were from other Dex holders, like the gregarious and puckish Gold, who wanted to go out partying, carousing, and gallivanting. Deep down he realized that this is what normal people did on the weekend, but his trademark unwavering confidence allowed him to ignore that inconvenient fact.

Green opened the double doors that guarded Professor Oak's lab and took a hearty breath of fresh Pallet air. Although he couldn't put his finger on it, something seemed amiss, almost as if a mild disaster was about to strike in the next coming hours. However, his sixth sense told him that it would be somewhat of a fun disaster, if that was possible. Almost as if a friend would break into his house, empty his refrigerator, and replace his collection of healthy fruit and vegetables with candy: certainly irritating but not the end of the world. As Green checked his phone, he was disappointed to see that there were no messages today. The Pokémon researcher sighed, although he didn't want to go anywhere today, a part of him still wanted to be asked.

So after a brisk walk home, Green found himself reading "Research Quarterly". The central article, which was about a man who had to take out a second mortgage on his home to feed his Snorlax, was not of particular interest to him. Truth be told, he was starting to regret turning down Gold so many times and a part of him wanted to call him. At that moment, he got text message from Blue, the pesky girl, and friend he supposed, who lived a mile away.

"Come over here immediately; it is an emergency," was all the text read. Green knew from experience to take Blue's words with a grain of salt so he started casually walking over to her house. About midway there, he received another text message from Blue saying "Please hurry, I might die." Green, who was aware of the fact that Blue might be lying, was also aware she might not be. He decided that it would be best if he sprinted the rest of the way to the pesky girl's house. After all, she might really be in serious trouble, and he wasn't that heartless.

When Green opened the door, Blue was lying on the couch, her body totally submersed under a pink blanket spotted with Jigglypuff, who were showing a spectrum of emotions. "Finally you get here," she quipped. "You are so slow." Green looked around, sweat dripping from his face, soaking his signature blue T-shirt. "I thought that there was an emergency. You are comfortably watching a movie. Why did you call me over here?"

Blue stopped the movie, which from what Green could gather, was a love story between a boy who liked Pokémon contests and a girl who liked Pokémon battles. It actually seemed kind of interesting but he would never tell Blue that. At that moment, Blue turned her round cerulean orbs at Green and said "Psych".

"What!" Green practically yelled, "You mean that you lied to me."

"'Lied' is such a strong word," Blue quipped. "I prefer the phrase stretched the truth. I meant die of hunger but I couldn't be bothered to type all that in the text message. My phone is broken and this temporary replacement they gave me does not even have a keyboard. Now be a dear and make me some popcorn with extra butter. And while you're at it, change your shirt. I mean, what kind of guy comes over to a girl's house with a sweaty shirt. Some people are just completely inept socially. It's a good thing that you're cute."

"Enough," said Green, who was fuming, from the insult, and blushing, from the compliment, all at the same time. "You know good and well that my shirt wouldn't be all sweaty if you could distinguish the difference between an emergency and an empty bowl of popcorn. I think that I'm going home now so I can change my shirt and do what I was doing before you called."

"No," Blue pleaded. "I want you to stay". Then she started to bat her eyelashes in a provocative way at Green but the Pokémon researcher wasn't convinced: he had been seen that trick too many times. As Green's hand was on the doorknob, Blue, for the first time, haphazardly discarded her pink Jigglypuff covers and ran to drag Green back in her house. Usually, actually almost always, Green was a man of resolve and once he had made up his mind it was almost impossible to change it. However, Green noticed that Blue's outfit was incredibly sexy and alluring to him.

In actuality, she wasn't wearing anything unusually provocative, although that wasn't saying much for Blue. She had on a modest pink v-cut shirt that featured a sleeping girl who was lying on a massive pillow that was formed by a mountain of Jigglypuff's. On the shirt were the words "how to cure insomnia". The shirt was complemented by a pair of undersized pink gym shorts, pink sandals and a pair of pink charm bracelets on each wrist. Truth be told, there was something about the color pink that made Blue almost irresistible to him. In Green's eyes, the problem, the perpetual quandary, with Blue was that he felt she couldn't be trusted. Somewhere inside, there was a part of Green that wanted to trust her, to believe that she was a nice girl who needed to be loved instead of a hedonistic girl who put material things before friends. And pink was the catalyst, the thing that appealed to his naïve, irrational, non-Green like, emotions in an incredibly powerful way. Pink made Green forget about all the bad, or at the very least selfish, things that Blue had done in the past. Sometimes Green wondered if Blue knew that by wearing this color she had the power to potentially drive him wild.

"Fine," Green said, "while giving the best scowl he could possibly muster under the circumstances. Go back on the couch and I'll make you some popcorn for the both of us. But can you least warm up the shower for me? I don't want to get your couch all sweaty."

"I'll bring you a change of shirt as well," Blue said with a smile that was all too pleasant. "As a matter of fact, Red brought me a shirt from the Celadon Game Corner but it is way too big so I only wore it once." Green could see an uptick in Blue's mood and a part of began to wonder if she was flirting, sincerely flirting, with him or if she was just teasing him.

As Green got in the hot shower, he began to think about how Blue had changed over the years. When he first met her, she was a girl who put her interests before anyone else's. It seemed like only yesterday that she sold those useless items to Red or tried to capture the legendary Pokémon Mew just for the money. However, over time, Blue had definitely mellowed and, at times was actually not selfish. Under any circumstance, she was still a big flirt and she seemed to use guys to get what she wanted. He had her boast the other week that she hadn't paid for a first date in over 2 years. Admittedly, she was a girl and a very attractive one at that but he didn't think that was something to brag about, especially considering the number of dates she went on.

Now the confusing part and the element that was hard to explain was why wasn't Blue on a date this Friday night. She certainly had more excitative things to do than to stay around her house and watch romance movies. Green wasn't naïve, or at least he didn't like to think of himself that way; he knew that almost any guy would love to be here, at Blue's house, on a Friday night. However, Green wasn't the type of guy that took relationships lightly. He didn't particularly care for flings and he wouldn't start a relationship unless both parties were committed. And that was the caveat; a part of him thought Blue was too flighty with relationships. On the other hand, he knew once he started liking Blue as more than a friend that there was no going back.

Green stepped out of the shower just as confused as ever about the pesky girl. He put on all his clothes except his signature blue T-shirt which he looked at in disdain. "Totally wet, thanks to that pesky girl no less" he uttered in annoyance. "I guess that I have to put on Blue's T-Shirt." To Green's surprise, the shirt was almost a perfect fit; it managed to show cling tightly to his chest and show off his upper-body muscles while being comfortable at the same time. Furthermore, the shirt smelled like just Blue's perfume, which Green mentally scolded himself for liking a little too much.

When Green walked out to the living room, he saw Blue curled up on the couch with the Jigglypuff blanket tossed to the floor. "Oh," Blue said with a grin that was almost too big, "I want to talk to you about something that I read."

"You read," Green smirked. "Yes, I do," Blue shot back as she looked around for something to throw at him. She was unsatisfied with the ostensible options, so she just decided to throw her sandals at him. He swiftly dodged the first one but the second attempt connected directly with his forehead.

"Ow," Green shrieked, "didn't your mom teach you not to throw things." Blue paused, as if she was answering a philosophical question, and then gave a resolute "no" followed by an insolent raspberry. "Now," Blue said, I was going to tell you, before you so rudely interrupted, that I found your article on Aerodactyl fossils very interesting. I think that the Oak laboratory should fund your idea of looking for fossils on route 26. It seems like there could be a bonanza of fossils under the ocean."

Writing research papers was one of the more tedious parts of being a researcher but Green excelled at it. His work wasn't published in any big magazine, yet, but his work was often displayed in professor's Oak own newsletter. "Wow," Green said, I'm very impressed that you read my article. How did you get a copy anyway; the newsletter is usually only for scientists?

"Everything's online these days," Blue said, debonairly flicking her long brown hair and looking at Green directly in his eyes. "I really have a thing for smart guys," she said but she was interrupted by the doorbell. She slowly meandered to the doorbell, as she was turning in an important test she didn't study for. About halfway there, she turned around and said "Green, I borrowed 40 bucks from you"

"What the heck," Green yelled. "What do you mean you borrowed 40 bucks from me?" At that moment, the doorbell rang again. "I mean, that the person at the door is a pizza delivery boy because someone can't make popcorn without burning it. Ladies should never have to pay for the first date and since you weren't offering to pay in a timely fashion, I took the money from your wallet while you were in the shower. I mean, geez, I thought you were a gentleman.

"You can't just take money from my wallet without asking", Green yelled. "And you can't just classify this as a date without asking. And you can't do whatever you want without asking." Blue ostensibly wasn't concerned with the speech and proceeded to answer the door. At the door, stood an extremely annoyed looking kid who, if nametags don't lie, was named Joey. "Youngster Joey doesn't like waiting at the door," he said. Youngster Joey has got places to be, pizzas to deliver, and a rattata to pamper. Youngster Joey only got this job so he could buy expensive shampoo for his rattata, which is the best rattata in the world by the way. Youngster Joey says that will be 22.17."

"Youngster Joey also likes talking in the third person and being weird," Blue mumbled under her breath. "Here's 40 dollars and keep the change," Blue said with a plastic smile. Meanwhile, Green, who was sulking on the couch, was infuriated when heard the words 'keep the change'. "What do you mean keep the change? Why is youngster Joey keeping the change? I have a five in my wallet, you pesky girl."

Blue put her lips together and started to pout. "What kind of guy doesn't at least spend 20 dollars on a fabulous girl like me for a date? Anyway, I paid for the movie, so it's only fair."

"What do you mean the movie", Green spat back. "That was a soap opera that you Tivoed. Furthermore, I wasn't even watching it. You can't give the pizza guy an 80% tip with my money." At that instant, Blue looked at him and started to smile as if she was playing chess and about to put her opponent in checkmate. The girl gave a wink and said "Green you are so sexy when you do math."

And with that, Blue looked at Youngster Joey, who was awkwardly standing on her front porch, trying to pretend like he was ignoring an argument that he was intently listening to. "Now don't feel bad about taking this Joey," she winked. And with that, she closed the door to face an infuriated Green.

"Turn that frown upside down", she sweetly said as if she was talking to a sullen 2nd grader. "I got a succulent pizza and even some cinnamon-sticks with extra cinnamon." Despite the admonishment, Green didn't alter his seemingly sour disposition or for that matter even attempt to make eye contact with the girl. This went on for the better part of ten minutes and the pair ate in an awkward silence that was only interrupted by the stop and start of the air conditioner.

"Come on," Blue started to ramble. "I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to disrespect you by taking your money without asking. I mean we are friends, right; I didn't think I was overstepping the boundary too much. I was going to pay you back, of course. I just didn't want to break my two year streak." All of this reached Green, who was staring intently at her but seemingly content to let her keep talking.

"Look," Blue sighed, "I invited you over here because I have feelings for you. I like you as more than a friend and I hope you feel the same way about me. I thought your willingness to pay for dinner would show how much you like me. I know it was a stupid idea to take your money without asking but you are so reticent that it's hard to accurately judge these things. I'm really sorry and I promise that next time we go out dinner is on me. I just hope you don't hate me."

When she finished her speech, Green stood up from the chair he was eating in and walked over to the couch where the dejected girl sat. There was a part of him, an impish part of him, which wanted to make the most of this unexpected opportunity. Blue thought Green was mad at him but actually he wasn't. He knew that Blue wouldn't take his money without telling him or default on a loan that he gave her. Come to think of it, she always promptly paid back any money that he loaned to her and that's more than could be said for some people he knew-namely Gold. All in all, Blue was a loyal friend and she was pretty fun to be around too.

Green suddenly saw Blue in a complete different light. He looked at the cute girl with the cute blue eyes and the cute pink outfit and he suddenly felt comfortable trusting her. She was a little materialistic but at the end of the day he felt that she was an awesome person- definitely girlfriend material. That made Green really excited but he wasn't one to squander an opportunity. Tonight, Green vowed he would have the last laugh.

"You really disappointed me tonight," Green exclaimed, trying his best to muster a sigh that appeared somewhat veracious. "Sometimes I think that you don't respect me." Blue looked rather dispirited by this statement and shook her head. "Green, I do respect you. I'm just really sorry about all this."

Green alleged, "I would never betray your confidence like this and do mischief when you weren't expecting it. And I want to prove it to you. Close your eyes for five seconds."

"Why," Blue said, fighting back tears at the disastrous way the evening was going. "I trust you. I don't see the point of the game." Green was at a loss for words, as he didn't expect her counterargument but he used his potency of the situation to his advantage. "Just do it," Green said in the most serious voice he could produce at the time. "You're going to have to trust me on this." Blue, who didn't think closing her eyes would bring them any closer to conflict resolution, reluctantly decided to appease Green's strange request. When Blue's eyes were closed, Green decided to move forward with his plan, which virtually amounted to a preemptive tickle strike. It was all the better that Blue, like Green actually, was extremely ticklish.

"Oh my gosh, please stop" Blue squealed. "You know I'm super ticklish" Green ignored her and started tickling her under her ribs which was her super ticklish spot. "Stop Green," Blue shrieked but for the better part of a minute her requests fell on deaf ears. "You have to say the magic phrase," Green teased. Almost inevitably, Blue said "Fine I'll say it, just stop this madness." Green said, "I'm not stopping until you say Green is cuter than me and I'm a pesky girl." "You are not cuter than me and I'm not pesky girl", Blue screeched. Green started to tickle right above her ribs with a little more force and at this point tears were starting to come out from Blue's eyes because she was laughing so hard. "The tickle monster doesn't like that answer", he replied coyly. "Fine" Blue, who had reached her limit, screamed, "Green is cuter than me and I'm a pesky girl. Now stop tickling me this instant."

Green heeded the cease and desist order and the two fell off the couch onto Blue's soft Jigglypuff blanket in a fit of laughter and ecstasy. After the dust settled, so to speak, Blue's head was on Green's chest and both of them had disheveled hair, slightly wrinkled clothes, and toothy smiles. The bliss of laughter quickly subsided into an awkward silence as Blue realized that her confession had gone unrequited.

"Green," Blue whispered with a surprising lack of confidence, "do you like me? I mean, I told you that I had feelings for you but you just tickled me. I don't want to be uncertain any longer." Green paused and if Blue didn't know any better the Pokémon researcher was hiding a smirk.

"Well," Green said, "the thing is that I have a crush on this cute, pesky, girl." However, I think that I'll tell her tomorrow. That way she will be thinking of me all night," Green retorted with a cocky grin. As one might expect, Blue didn't appear amused in the slightest. Instead she sweetly asked, "Green did you bring your Charizard with you?" Green, who was thrown off by this random question responded "No, I ran over here so fast that I didn't bring any of my Pokémon."

"That's what I thought," Blue exclaimed with a smirk. "Blastoise and Nidoqueen, come here my sweeties," Blue said in an eerily saccharine voice. Almost immediately, the two loyal Pokémon who had been sleeping in the guest room came sauntering out into the living room. "Sorry to wake you," Blue implored but there is a disrespectful, incorrigible and licentious boy in our home.

"What are you doing," Green, who was now starting to get a little nervous, managed to squeak? Blue looked at Green and sharply pointed at him with her index finger as if she was pointing someone out in a police lineup. "That guy is a big meanie and jerkface. First, he refused to pay for dinner. Then he made me cry. Then he tried to shove his tongue in my mouth without my permission."

"What the heck", Green interjected "the last one is not even true. Blue is stretching the truth. Everything that happened tonight was perfectly innocuous," he pleaded to the massive Pokémon. Fittingly enough, Green's interjections were futile. The Pokémon looked infuriated, as if they were ready to tear his head off. In all honesty, the two Pokémon didn't know what Blue was complaining about. Besides some disheveled hair, she looked perfectly fine and happier than they had seen her in a while. As a matter of fact, they remembered many a time when Blue told them that she wished Green would passionately kiss her- and they remembered the word tongue loosely being thrown around. Regardless, a Pokémon's primary job was to be loyal, so they would be best thespians they could be in this staged act.

Blue gave a coy smile and walked over to the bookshelf while the room was completely silent- well besides the angry snarling of Blastoise and Nidoqueen. The girl with the entirely pink outfit went to a drawer and pulled out a long feather.

Green, who was just now starting to put two and two together, was starting to get petrified. Blue could be really sweet at times but there was a part of her that was very mischievous. He guessed that if he tried to resist whatever she had planned then Blue would call in the muscle-Nidoqueen and Blastoise. He didn't know what the feather was for but it looked perfect for advanced tickle torture.

However, after a quick calculation, Green figured he could possibly escape. He sprinted, boldly made a dash, for the nearest visible exit and almost instantly heard the pursuit of the colossal Pokémon behind him. To his surprise, he managed to get outside in Blue's backyard but he realized that he couldn't call for help here. He tried to run a zig-zag pattern to the back gate but he was slammed to the ground by Nidoqueen. The Drill Pokémon was too big for him and he knew that resistance was futile.

"Blastoise," he heard Blue sweetly call from the kitchen. "Remove Green's shoes and socks. I want to get the most of the feather. If he's a good boy then I won't have to use it. Well I won't have to use it much anyway," she said impishly to no one in particular.

"Please," Green, who felt tingly just thinking about get tickled, pleaded. "I like you a lot. You're not a pesky girl. Well, you are but that's what I like about you. Seriously, I want you to be my girlfriend. You're even cuter than me in the right light. Just call off these hooligans and don't tickle my foot with that feather. I'm extremely ticklish there. Have a heart."

Blue looked up, grinning from ear, because this date night was now paying dividends beyond her wildest dreams. The good part of her wanted to go kiss her new boyfriend but the naughty part of her wanted revenge for the tickle torture that she was subjected to earlier. The girl sauntered over to the drawer to put the feather back. Then she was struck with a flash of inspiration.

"Blastoise," she debonairly said, and the Shellfish Pokémon eagerly awaited orders while chatting with his friend Nidoqueen. "This is actually kind of fun. It beats sleeping anyway," Blastoise enthusiastically said to Nidoqueen in Pokémon language. Nidoqueen agreed and pinned down Green's arms just a little more forcefully as the Pokémon researcher begged shamelessly for mercy. Blue cheekily added, "Blastoise take one of Green's long socks and use it to blindfold him. It will make him even more ticklish if he doesn't know when or where I'm going to use this feather."

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><p><strong>So I hope you enjoyed the story. Reviews are always greatly appreciated. I would love to know what you thought was cute, funny, awesome or what you think I can improve on. I hope Green wasn't too OOC. Let me know if he was a little too silly or if, possibly, I am going in the right direction. Also, I noticed when I was proofreading, that I had a lot grammar mistakes, especially regarding quotes. If my grammar is incorrect in some areas, then please let me know.<strong>


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